U.P. ATS arrests former contractual Army employee on espionage charges

The man has been identified as Shailesh Kumar alias Shailesh Singh Chauhan

September 27, 2023 04:58 am | Updated 04:58 am IST - Lucknow

The Uttar Pradesh Anti-Terrorism Squad (ATS) on Tuesday arrested a 27-year-old man in Lucknow for allegedly spying for Pakistan’s Inter-Services Intelligence (ISI) and passing on information about India’s military installations to the handlers across the border. Shailesh Kumar alias Shailendra Singh Chauhan is working as a porter on a contractual basis in the Indian Army in Arunachal Pradesh for the past eight or nine months.

The ATS registered a First Information Report (FIR) under Sections 121 (A)/171 of the Indian Penal Code (IPC) and 66 (D) Information Technology (IT) Act. The suspect is a native of Kasganj.

“In the interrogation, it came to light that the suspect worked in the Army based in Arunachal Pradesh for eight-nine months. He made a profile on Facebook named as Shailesh Chauhan. He was contacted by one Harleen Kaur on social media platform, who introduced him to one ISI agent, Preeti. Preeti disclosed to Shailesh that she was an ISI agent and if he shares information, he would get a ‘handsome’ sum of money. Later, Mr. Shailesh shared photographs of movement of the Indian Army and got ₹2,000 per photo,” read a statement by the ATS.

The mobile phone of the sent has been sent for forensic analysis as further investigation into the matter is under way.

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